Dialing Out Using a Visor?

A Not-so Anonymous Coward asks: "This is day three of trying to find a .PRC file or something that would enable me to dial out from my visor using a cable connection to my Nokia 6160m phone. The Nokia 6160's don't have IR capabilites so getting the SERIALIRPN1.PRC and the SERIRCOMMLIB.PRC files won't help. these files would be needed if I were trying to use IR, but as you can see, don't need them. The Visor only has a Palm OS of 3.1 and can only update it with a patch of which would make like easier if there was such a thing. So, what can I do while on the road when I want to download a map or check email? I can connect through a conventional phone line, since I have the Circom globalaccess modem for the Visor, but it won't dial through the mobile connection cable since it keeps looking for the conventional phone line! Am I just out of luck here? Does anyone feel especially creative, to try and figure this one out?"

Comments

One way

[Indomitus]

I found a guy on the Visorcentral.com message board that sells a cable to connect a Motorola Startac to the Visor through the ports on the bottom of each. It then uses the phone as the modem as if you had a regular modem on the Visor. I haven't gotten one yet but tons of others have and it seems to work fine. They may make something like that for your phone. I'd search the visorcentral.com boards, there's usually a ton of other people with the same needs as you have.

I'd like to know if there are any Springboard modules that will allow you to connect to your cell phone. Since the SixPak was cancelled I don't know of any others available and I'd like to use a keyboard and modem at the same time, which isn't possible with the little cable.

You need a software modem

[jchristopher]

This might be wrong, but I don't think your phone has a modem built in.

You need a software modem, like SoftGSM, to make this work.

Solution(s)

[Dr. Nonsense]

Okay, well, good thing you said the 6160*M*, otherwise I would have whap'ed you silly... note to others... the standard xx60's typically arn't data capable... that is... the 5160 and the 6160 are NOT data capable, given, there may be some way to hack them as convential phone to conventional modem, BUT no cable exists to do this that I am aware of. Anyways, luckily the 6160m and the 6160i are data capable... and so is the 7160... which I just recently got. Now, I don't have a laptop or a PDA so I havent tried this yet myself, however, I have investigated the possibility thoroughly -- thats why I bought the 7160, I wanted to be ready for future use.
I checked the Nokia site for the 6160m and I did not see anything regarding PC connectivity other than something simply stating these models were capable of this. With the 7160, however, it came with a PC Connectivity guide in addition to the details that are in the standard user guide for the phone. I suggest you start by checking this out, it may be similar -- however, the guide says it is in reference to Palm OS 3.3 -- I dont know how different things are between 3.1 and 3.3. You can see the manual at http://www.nokiausa.com/fonesync/7160PCguide.pdf
Basically it comes down to configuring the Visor/Palm for the Nokia as a standard modem, and making sure you are using that configuration for your connection. Of course it also means using the DLR-3 or DLR-3P cable (Nokia 51xx/61xx/71xx to 9 pin serial) to an appropriately wired/configured cable/adapter. From what you said, it sounds like you (or your Visor) is still trying to use the configuration for the Circom modem to establish the connection, which isn't what you want to do since you're using the Nokia as the modem. If doing what I said above doesn't fix it, maybe try to remove the Circom modem so that it's not confused, if you don't already have to for the cable connection.
If none of this works I suggest trying at least one of the following: 1. Contact the Store where you got your phone/service or the service provider directly 2. Contact Handspring or surf around their website to see if you can pick up any tips 3. Contact Nokia -- you can find their tech support info somewhere on the website... and they are very good as is the website... or, at very least they try... I called them before I even got my phone. 4. Surf around the Palm website, maybe you can pick up some tips, ideas, or maybe even software 5. Try newsgroups, to start with I might suggest alt.cellular.nokia
Or, you could always try sending me a visor or palm, and I'll try to figure out your problem in more depth.... ;) No, actually seriously... if you appreciated this... wait... hmm.... aww, gee, I just really want to be able to hook up my phone to a PDA or old laptop to do exactly what you are talking about.. 8(
And to the guy who suggested SoftGSM... sounds like an interesting idea... except the Nokia xx60's are TDMA phones, not GSM. I believe most/all (Nokia) GSM phones are data-capable... or at least the network is inherently, although like you say... apparently there is a need for this software in some cases if you dont have the hardware... BTW, the Nokia GSM phones are the xx90's.. and there might be others, but in the 51xx, 61xx, 71xx families these are the ones I know of.

Re:Solution(s)

[firewort]

The differences between PalmOS3.1 and 3.5 are negligable, but important here:

the modems dialog in prefs changed, so that 3.3 and up can specify different, new modems. This shouldn't be a problem, however.

I believe that if you get the cable and set up the connection specifics in the Network dialog, treating the phone as a regular modem, that it will work. This is what the data-enabled phone ought to do, act as a regular modem.

Note, if you got the cable for the phone to the 9-pin serial of the laptop, you ought to be able to use the handspring travel cable connected to the 9-pin/cell cable with a gender changer in the middle and have it work perfectly- This way you score the use of the cable for your laptop as well as your handspring.

Even if the modem is at the Cell-provider's gateway, because it's a data enabled phone meant for dialing out from laptops, this ought to work. It works with my cdma phone, which is set up in this fashion.

In the states, handspring --> cable --> CDMA phone
in Europe and Israel, handspring --> IR- ericsson i888 gsm phone.

I did use a TDMA phone in the middle east for about a month, the connection was always getting dropped. could've been the phone, tho- it was an ericsson 300 series, so you know it was crufty.

A host is a host from coast to coast, but no one uses a host that's close

try newsgroups?

[Lish]

Did you try searching the archives of the visor-related newsgroups? People post questions like this on there all the time. Try:

• alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot
• comp.sys.palmtops
• comp.sys.palmtops.pilot

Or even alt.cellular.nokia.

---

Connection

[BSDevil]

The string of events I've always wanted to do with my Palm V (but have never found out if possible) is as follows:

from a foreign country HotSync my Palm with my computer at home by way of using the Palm's IR port to go to my Motorola Timeport's IR port, and use the Timeport as the modem to dial into my PC and Sync.

Anyone done it? Is it possible?

direct serial access

[rwa2]

Tricky, since the older Visors that run 3.1 don't have the nifty new serial redirection interfaces. But there are hacks to get around it.

First, use a replacement serial redirection hack like the commercial IRlink or the free Comlink (search for them on palmgear).

Additionally, with Comlink, I've found that I would also have to use a trick to get PalmOS 3.1 to access the serial link directly: I would have to enter "00" for the phone number. This will complete the serial link to the phone's modem. Then you'll have to use scripting to actually dial the number and pause for authentication. -- Other people have said that simply entering the full phone number as "+-xxx-xxx-xxxx" also did the trick.

Good luck, and if all else fails, see if you can trade in for a phone with an IR modem :)

Xircom GSM Springport Module

[toddatl30]

Xircom makes a GSM Springboard module that connects at least to the Nokia 5190, and I think others. You might check there.

TDK GlobalPulse Kit

[zarmok]

Get one of these;

Includes software for the palm + a serial cable.

I successfully connected one between my Nokia 5110 and my Palm IIIx

basically turns the palm/phone into a modem, and away you go. Completely transparent... and all cool Palm Net apps work fine.. mail, web, telnet, vnc :-)

but I have a 7110 now.. (and Palm IIIc) so I don't need the cable anymore.

Rohan Beckett

Re:Connection (palm to timeport via ir)

[cosyne]

i use the ir interface to connect my palm3e to my timeport, and then get a ppp connection through earthlink. (unfortunately cingular charges extra for the privelidge of sending data over their network. bastards) I can download email and surf the web this way, but i haven't tried syncing yet. i have the network connection type set to ppp,..., query dns, auto ip address, and the modem settings to sandard, 9600, low, auto, AT&FX4, touchtone. theres a little thing called irenhanc or something like that which redirects the palm's serial comm from the cradle port to the ir port (i could use this to hot sync to imacs, before they took the irda ports off them. more bastards.) i'd think you could use those modem settings with the modem sync option to do what you want.